John Chapter 4

[Momof5]

I will start this off with a few verses. Debra and I will alternate posting Scripture. I hope to see many comments, references, and life applications and I hope others will be blessed by our study of John, as I have been :hug:

NKJV:

1) Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John

2) (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

3) He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

4) But He needed to go through Samaria.

We learned in Chapter 3 that there was jealousy among John the Baptist's followers and it got the attention of the Pharisees. IMO, it was not God's plan for Jesus to be a part of a hassle over baptism so He did what He often did when it was not part of God's plan, he left. What an example for me - when a situation is not God's will, I need to leave the situation!

The direct route from Judea to Galilee was through Samaria. Most Jews avoided Samaria because they did not consider the Samaritans to be pure Jews due to intermarriage with foreigners way back when. Jesus did not have that prejudice.

I am so thankful that Jesus does not look at our ancestry and background!

[Debra R]

Momof5-I will start this off with a few verses. Debra and I will alternate posting Scripture. I hope to see many comments, references, and life applications and I hope others will be blessed by our study of John, as I have been http://www.bibleforums.org/forum/images/smilies/hug.gif

Amen!
Thank you Momof5 :hug:.
I pray also that our Lord will bless and enlighten us with more knowledge of Himself, that we may know Him more. And I pray our Lord will bless all who read and study His word with us.

John 4:1) Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John

2) (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

3) He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

4) But He needed to go through Samaria.

Momof5-We learned in Chapter 3 that there was jealousy among John the Baptist's followers and it got the attention of the Pharisees. IMO, it was not God's plan for Jesus to be a part of a hassle over baptism so He did what He often did when it was not part of God's plan, he left. What an example for me - when a situation is not God's will, I need to leave the situation!
Amen. That is so true. There are times when we get in situations that are not God's will. I have learned that when I trust in God's leading He will make it known those times we are not in His will and lead us in the right direction. Many times I was not sure the path I should be taking. When I couldn't hear His voice clearly and would just step out in faith trusting in His guidance. And I would ask God to let it be known to me His will in a certain situation. For Him to close the door or prepare the way smoothly before me.
And He was faithful even when I was confused over what to do, He watched over me and led me to where He wanted me. Our God is faithful.

Momof5-The direct route from Judea to Galilee was through Samaria. Most Jews avoided Samaria because they did not consider the Samaritans to be pure Jews due to intermarriage with foreigners way back when. Jesus did not have that prejudice.

I am so thankful that Jesus does not look at our ancestry and background!
Our Lord had a plan for those in Samaria which we will read about in this chapter :).
Jesus had a planned meeting. As I think about this, in each of our lives Jesus also had planned His meeting with us.


(NKJ) John 4:
5) So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6)Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

We can read about this in Genesis......


Genesis 33:
19) And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20) Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

I like this! El Elohe Israel means " a mighty God is the God of Israel."

Yes, our God is mighty!

It also tells of this place in Joshua....

Joshua 24:
32) The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

I have to go. It has been a very busy past few days. I am having to fill in for a coworker who is on vacation and am also in training for more job responsibilities. Pray for me :pray:.

Love you :hug:.
Be blessed
in Christ's love,
Debra

[judi<>><]

I think it is interesting to note that the Samaritans were those who were left behind in the land when the aristocracy and priests were carried off to Babylon. Not being among the classes who had the leisure time to study the Torah, these people did the best they knew how to hold on to the religious practices that had been left to them. To this day, there is a sect in Samaria that practices animal sacrifice!


But without the full knowledge of God's Word, the religion was quickly corrupted. Elements of the Canaanite religion were incorporated, the people intermarried with the Canaanites, and by the time the Jews returned from Babylon 70 years later...The Samaritans were no longer seen by them as Jews. In fact, these were the very people who opposed the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem...for they worshipped on their own Holy Mountain...

Yet Jesus had an appointment in Samaria. God keeps His covenants, even when we do not, and He knew there were children of His in Samaria who would also respond to the Gospel of His Son, and be brought into the Kingdom!

Isn't it wonderful to know that even when we are faithless...pulled away from God by the World...God is faithful!!!

[Momof5]

Yet Jesus had an appointment in Samaria. God keeps His covenants, even when we do not, and He knew there were children of His in Samaria who would also respond to the Gospel of His Son, and be brought into the Kingdom!

Isn't it wonderful to know that even when we are faithless...pulled away from God by the World...God is faithful!!!

Amen, judi! I love knowing that God is faithful always and not like me....

Thank you for the background information on the Samaritans. I pray that you will continue with us in this study :hug:

[Momof5]

You are in my prayers, Debra :hug:

Moving on a little....(we can always go back whenever we need to) :)


NKJV:

7) A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink.

8) For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Just like with the Samaritan woman, Jesus meets with us one-on-one. We learned from Judi why Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. I can imagine her astonishment that Jesus would talk to her, not only a Samaritan, but a woman!

I praise God that He is no respecter of persons and we shall soon see lives changed in that Samaritan town, just as Jesus changes our lives once we come to know Him and what He reveals to us about ourselves!

[Debra R]

Thank you Judi for sharing that info :hug:.


Judi-Yet Jesus had an appointment in Samaria. God keeps His covenants, even when we do not, and He knew there were children of His in Samaria who would also respond to the Gospel of His Son, and be brought into the Kingdom!

And that is what I was thinking on the other morning and about this verse.....


John 10
16) And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

All praise to our Lord for bringing in the lost sheep! :pp

Thank you for your prayers Momof5 :hug:.


Momof5-Just like with the Samaritan woman, Jesus meets with us one-on-one. We learned from Judi why Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. I can imagine her astonishment that Jesus would talk to her, not only a Samaritan, but a woman!

And in Acts we read it was unlawful for them to speak with the Samaritans.


Acts 10
28) Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

As I read the next verses I wanted to dwell on "living water".


John 4
10) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
11) The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?


Here are a few verses speaking on "living waters".

Jeremiah 2
13) "For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water.


Jeremiah 17
13) O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.


"Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters."

Psalm 36
9) For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

The Lord God is the "living waters".

The Lord Jesus is the "living waters".

Have to go now.
Have a very blessed day!
In Christ's love,
Debra

[Momof5]

I tried to post last night and kept getting an error message saying I could post once every 60 seconds (even though I hadn't posted anything) so finally I said :giveup:


Yes, Lord Jesus is the living water and our salvation.

Isaiah 12:3 - Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

John 4:10 - Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

I am so eternally thankful that I know the gift of God and asked Him, and He gave me living water.

[Debra R]

Hi Brenda, praying for you :hug:.

Sorry you were having trouble posting.

I'm still trying to get my house in order :D. Been decorating. I kept my grandson this weekend. He also kept me busy. But I'm back, finally, and ready for more verses :).







John 4


12) Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"


13) Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."


15) The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."



Momof5-I am so eternally thankful that I know the gift of God and asked Him, and He gave me living water.



Me too :pp.



John 6:35) And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.




John 7:38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."



You think the living water is also the Holy Spirit?

Just a few thoughts for tonight.

Be blessed

in Christ's love,

Debra

[Momof5]

Thanks for the prayers, Debra :hug: With the Lord's help, I am getting back on track. Every time I have tried to post anything the last couple days, I have been interrupted or sidetracked :B I will be back posting tomorrow.

[Momof5]

John 7:38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."


You think the living water is also the Holy Spirit?


Yes, I do.

John 7:39 - But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

[Debra R]

Thanks for the prayers, Debra :hug: With the Lord's help, I am getting back on track. Brenda, dear sister :hug:, I am glad you are doing okay. I know your heart must still be grieving for your adopted son. I don't think he will forget all you have done for him and the love you've shown him in the time that he was with you. We will keep him in prayer and our Father will watch over him. Everything will be okay. Love you, dear sister :hug:.


I thought I would post a few more verses. Oh, and I wanted to say that BadDog had a great discussion in the bible study forum on the woman at the well. Here is the link... http://bibleforums.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20282 (http://bibleforums.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20282)


A few more verses.....

John 4:16) Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

17) The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You have well said, "I have no husband,'

18) for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."


Have to go now.
God bless.
In Christ's love,
Debra

[Momof5]

A few more verses.....

John 4:16) Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

17) The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You have well said, "I have no husband,'

18) for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."


Jesus brought up the woman's husband to expose her sin to her, just as today, Jesus exposes my sin and tells me about myself, most of the time things I do not want to hear!

[Debra R]

John 4:19) The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."

21) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22) You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

[Debra R]

Thinking on verse 19 :) .....

John 4:19) The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.




Matthew 21:11) So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

It took me awhile to find this verse in Isaiah talking about Jesus being in Galilee. I thought there was another one but I can't find it. But this one is good.


Isaiah 9:1) Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.

2) The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.

That was us too. We walked in darkness and then Jesus dispersed the darkness and became our light. We thank you Lord Jesus for your light.

I hate to remember when I walked in darkness. I don't want to ever go back there.
It sometimes terrifies me to think of it. I would rather not live if Jesus wasn't in my life.

Be blessed in Christ's love,
Debra

[Momof5]

I am finally back to post!!!

20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."

Judi covered this very well in an earlier post. The Samaritan tradition was that Mount Gerazim, where they worshipped, was where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and where later he met Melchizedek.

21) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22) You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

The Messiah came from the Jewish people. Romans 9: 4,5 - Who are the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from who, according to the flesh, Christ came who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Where we worship does not matter, but how we worship and who we worship. Prayer is a key part of worship. 1 Timothy 2:8 - I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Since God is Spirit, we have the liberty to worship anywhere. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 3: 17: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. My opinion is that we must be born again to worship.

Jesus is Truth. We worship God through Jesus Christ.

Just a few thoughts this afternoon...... :)

[Debra R]

Great post Momof5!!!


My opinion is that we must be born again to worship.

Jesus is Truth. We worship God through Jesus Christ.

Just a few thoughts this afternoon...... :)

Amen!

And through the previous chapters we were continually told "you must be born again."
That is the only way anyone will be able to worship the Living God, through Christ Jesus!


Philippians 3:3) For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,


Thought I would post a few more verses :) ....


John 4:
25) The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."

26) Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

27) And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"

28) The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,

29) "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

30) Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

I can imagine the woman talking with Jesus, being so excited, even leaving her waterpot, running to tell those in her village about Him and all of them coming out to see Jesus.
To me, that is wonderful!

God bless you :hug:.
In Christ's love,
Debra

[Momof5]

Thank you, Debra for making me study :hug: It seems that when things don't always go the way we think they should, that study time goes out the window too. That is when I have to study harder, pray more, and praise so much more. Thank you, Lord!

John 4:
25) The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."

The woman had already said she perceived Jesus being a prophet. The Samaritans believed that the Prophet would teach all things. Deuteronomy 18:15 - The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

26) Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

I love that Jesus said "I.......am." He definitely told her that He is Messiah.

27) And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"

28) The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,

29) "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

30) Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

In my study notes, something really stuck me about the woman's spiritual journey. First she saw Jesus as a Jew, then a prophet, then Messiah. How like my own spiritual journey - first as a man, then a teacher, and finally, when He told me about myself, how lost I was, Lord and Savior!!!

[Cilla]

28) The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city,...

And we never read she gave the Lord to drink. Are we so busy taking from Him, and telling others, that we miss out on the devotional time of giving what we can to Him? He didn't ask for much. And it was within her capacity to give it Him. Just a thought that struck me. What have we given Him today?

[Momof5]

28) The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city,...

And we never read she gave the Lord to drink. Are we so busy taking from Him, and telling others, that we miss out on the devotional time of giving what we can to Him? He didn't ask for much. And it was within her capacity to give it Him. Just a thought that struck me. What have we given Him today?

Hi, Cilla :hug: I don't think I ever looked at it that way before. You are so right. We need to give to Him our worship, our praise, our adoration, our lives, our everything!

[Debra R]

Sorry Brenda :hug:, I have been slow lately.



Cilla.....28) The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city,...

And we never read she gave the Lord to drink. Are we so busy taking from Him, and telling others, that we miss out on the devotional time of giving what we can to Him? He didn't ask for much. And it was within her capacity to give it Him. Just a thought that struck me. What have we given Him today?



You are right Cilla :hug:. Which brings to mind Mary and Martha......



Luke 10:38) Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

39) And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

40) But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."

41) And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

42) But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."


The Lord Jesus says that is the good part, and is needed, to sit at His feet. To bask in His Presence. To be close to Him. We need those times to put away all distractions, put off the thoughts of our busy lives, the things that need to be done. For they will be there waiting after we have spent time with the Master. Soaking up His Presence. For then we will be enabled to do the things that need to be done. And we will have more awareness of God's Presence with us in all things.

And thinking back to this verse....


John 4:10 - Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."



Jesus said all we have to do is ask. If we but ask Him for more of Himself. He has promised to give.


Lord Jesus,
give us more of this living water. Fill us to overflowing. Let us bask in Your Presence, let us always be aware of You. Thank you Lord, for your Presence, for being with us always. We love You, Lord. Amen.

The next verses....



(John 4:31 NKJV) In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

(John 4:32) But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."

(John 4:33) Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him [anything] to eat?"

(John 4:34) Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

(John 4:35) Do you not say, 'There are still four months and [then] comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

(John 4:36) And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

(John 4:37) For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'

(John 4:38) I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

Let us continue to pray for our Lord's harvest, and that He will send more workers into His fields.

Have a very blessed day!
Love you! :hug:

In Christ's love,
Debra

[Momof5]

Great post, Debra :hug:

(John 4:34) Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

(John 4:35) Do you not say, 'There are still four months and [then] comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

(John 4:36) And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

(John 4:37) For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'

(John 4:38) I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

Our food, too, should be to do God's will - the Harvest! It took me a long time to understand "one sows and another reaps." It was always hard as a Sunday School teacher to not see immediate results! But I do understand it now and rejoice when someone I taught in the past few years comes to Jesus for salvation! This shows me that none of the work of the Kingdom is insignificant - we all work hand in hand for the harvest!

The disciples reaped the spiritual harvest that Jesus sowed in that Samaritan town. What joy they must have had together and what an example for us!!!

[Debra R]

Momof5...Our food, too, should be to do God's will - the Harvest! It took me a long time to understand "one sows and another reaps." It was always hard as a Sunday School teacher to not see immediate results! But I do understand it now and rejoice when someone I taught in the past few years comes to Jesus for salvation! This shows me that none of the work of the Kingdom is insignificant - we all work hand in hand for the harvest!

The disciples reaped the spiritual harvest that Jesus sowed in that Samaritan town. What joy they must have had together and what an example for us!!!

Yes! And that made me think of these verses....

Galatians 6: 9) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

God bless you. :hug:

[Momof5]

We need to take that to heart: to always do good to fellow believers. I have heard it said that Christians are the only people who bury their wounded. That is so sad - instead of loving one another as we are commanded.


I am going to continue on with the next few verses:

John 4

39) And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."

40) So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days.

41) And many more believed because of His own word.

42) Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."


We never know how our witness will affect someone else, even if it is to make someone curious about what we have and allow the door to be opened for us to share the Word of God (they can hear Jesus). When the Samaritans heard Jesus, they believed that He was the Savior of the world (everyone)!

[Debra R]

Momof5...We never know how our witness will affect someone else, even if it is to make someone curious about what we have and allow the door to be opened for us to share the Word of God (they can hear Jesus).

That is so true. There are many lives we touch, or rather, God touches them through us, that we have no idea of. So we keep pressing on, sharing our faith. Trusting in our Lord to reap His harvest.

A few more verses :) .....

John 4:43) Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.

44) For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

45) So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

46) So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

47) When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

48) Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."


My husband and I were talking the other day that at times when we pray we are looking for God to give us signs. Which there are times He does. But there are times all we need to do is wait and let His plan unfold.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ's love :hug:,
Debra

[Momof5]

48) Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."


My husband and I were talking the other day that at times when we pray we are looking for God to give us signs. Which there are times He does. But there are times all we need to do is wait and let His plan unfold.

I know that I do that, too! Which reminds me of Matthew 12:39-40 - But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

I need no other sign than the Resurrection!

Now, on to the last verses of the chapter.....

John 4

49) The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

50) Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way.

51) And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"

52) Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

53) So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household.

54) This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

[Kaja]

I read John chapter 4 and its confusing me.
http://www.livenirvana.com/forum/images/smilies/buhbye.gif

[Momof5]

I read John chapter 4 and its confusing me.
http://www.livenirvana.com/forum/images/smilies/buhbye.gif

What is confusing about it to you? Maybe we can help you :hug:

[Kaja]

Ok well in verse 11&12 why is the woman testing Jesus? are you even allowed to do that?!

And in verse18 when Jesus prophsices about the woman's past did she believe he was God BEFORE he told her this? Because if she did not, then why would she ask for the living water from him? but if she did believe who he was, why did Jesus have to prove himself to her by telling her that thing that only she knew of?

I only read to verse 26 so far because I want to understand this hard part first.
:)

[Momof5]

Ok well in verse 11&12 why is the woman testing Jesus? are you even allowed to do that?!

And in verse18 when Jesus prophsices about the woman's past did she believe he was God BEFORE he told her this? Because if she did not, then why would she ask for the living water from him? but if she did believe who he was, why did Jesus have to prove himself to her by telling her that thing that only she knew of?

I only read to verse 26 so far because I want to understand this hard part first.
:)

v. 11 & 12: I don't believe she is testing Jesus. She did not understand the spiritual message Jesus was delivering. She could only think of physical water and couldn't understand how Jesus could provide water without some way to draw it because it was a deep well.

v. 18 - Jesus told the woman about her past to expose her sin. At this point, in my opinion, she only thought of Jesus as a Jewish man. After He told her about her past, she thought of Him as a prophet, someone who was inspired by God with knowledge that could only come from God. She finally came to see Him as Messiah. Jesus did not have to prove himself to her, rather, He revealed who He is to her. Jesus reveals to us now who He is in the same way, by first exposing our sin and showing us that He is the only way to God, the Father, that He gives the living water (eternal life) - all we have to do is believe and receive!

[Debra R]

Hi Kaja, :)

welcome to the board :hug:. Glad you joined us.

I agree with what Momof5 said.

[Kaja]

Thanks girls. :hug:

Okay now my other question is in verse 41. What did they "believe" in? Jesus didnt die on the cross yet, so how could they of believed, like in what?
I dont undertsand how people in the Old Testament became Christians and before Jesus died for us. What was there to believe in?:help:

[Debra R]

Hi Kaja,

In the Old Testament it tells us that Jesus was to be born into the world and be our Savior. The people had heard the stories of Jesus but they didn't know who He was. When Jesus met the woman at the well He was telling her who He was, that He was the Savior.

[Debra R]

I know that I do that, too! Which reminds me of Matthew 12:39-40 - But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

I need no other sign than the Resurrection!

Now, on to the last verses of the chapter.....

John 4

49) The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"

50) Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way.

51) And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"

52) Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."

53) So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household.

54) This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
John 4:50) Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way.


That is so awesome. All Jesus had to do was speak and the son became well and lived.

[Debra R]

I am wondering if the man had not believed Jesus' word, would the son have lived?

[Momof5]

I am wondering if the man had not believed Jesus' word, would the son have lived?

I guess that is one of those unanswerable questions. I know had I not believed Jesus' word, I would not live. Because I believed His word, I have eternal life. That is how He healed me - He took me from death to life!!!!

[Debra R]

I guess that is one of those unanswerable questions. I know had I not believed Jesus' word, I would not live. Because I believed His word, I have eternal life. That is how He healed me - He took me from death to life!!!!
That is true. We do have eternal life because we have believed Jesus' word, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. We have heard His word, we have accepted His word. We know that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. Our Savior. Who loved us enough to die for us and rose from the grave that we are assured of eternal life with Him. Forever and ever. Praise God! :pp :pp :pp

[Momof5]

Thanks girls. :hug:

Okay now my other question is in verse 41. What did they "believe" in? Jesus didnt die on the cross yet, so how could they of believed, like in what?
I dont undertsand how people in the Old Testament became Christians and before Jesus died for us. What was there to believe in?:help:

I think Debra explained the question you had in verse 41.

There weren't "Christians" in the Old Testament. That came after the Resurrection.

In the Old Testament, they believed in God, they believed His promises. God had a covenant (agreement) with the Jewish people. His promise was to send Jesus as the Savior. God is faithful and always keeps His promises. Going back to verse 41, they believed that Jesus was the Savior God promised in the Old Testament.

[Momof5]

That is true. We do have eternal life because we have believed Jesus' word, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. We have heard His word, we have accepted His word. We know that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. Our Savior. Who loved us enough to die for us and rose from the grave that we are assured of eternal life with Him. Forever and ever. Praise God! :pp :pp :pp

Amen, Amen, and Amen!!!

[Kaja]

In the Old Testament, they believed in God, they believed His promises. God had a covenant (agreement) with the Jewish people. His promise was to send Jesus as the Savior. God is faithful and always keeps His promises. Going back to verse 41, they believed that Jesus was the Savior God promised in the Old Testament.
But I still dont get how people became Christians in the OT? Like when you died, who went to heaven and who went to hell? If Jesus didnt die for our sins yet, how were you saved? :confused

[Momof5]

But I still dont get how people became Christians in the OT? Like when you died, who went to heaven and who went to hell? If Jesus didnt die for our sins yet, how were you saved? :confused


Kaja, they did not become Christians like we understand it, but they were saved by their faith in God and by their obedience to God, not matter the cost. The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11 is a good place to read about the Old Testament heroes of faith.

I will come back to this later - I am going to study a bit to maybe help this become clearer to you :hug:

Is your profile correct about you being 12 years old?

[Kaja]

Thanks that makes it a little clearer, but it would be better if you can explain more. :)
And yeah Im 12.
Thanks mom :hug:

[Momof5]

Thanks that makes it a little clearer, but it would be better if you can explain more. :)
And yeah Im 12.
Thanks mom :hug:

I will try to explain more (after I get it all together) a little later. I am really impressed that someone your age is digging deep into God's Word :hug:

[humblamb]

I am finally back to post!!!


Where we worship does not matter, but how we worship and who we worship. Prayer is a key part of worship. 1 Timothy 2:8 - I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Since God is Spirit, we have the liberty to worship anywhere. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 3: 17: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. My opinion is that we must be born again to worship.

Jesus is Truth. We worship God through Jesus Christ.

Just a few thoughts this afternoon...... :)


I agree with you whole heartedly this view of worship would lead to a much more unified body of Christ don't you think?

This whole bible study brought a verse of a favorite hymn of mine to mind.

"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking for things that could not satisfy
then one day I heard the Saviour saying, drink from the well that never shall run dry. Fill my cup Lord.....

I am thoroughly enjoying this study of John chapter 4. thank you.

[Debra R]

I agree with you whole heartedly this view of worship would lead to a much more unified body of Christ don't you think?

This whole bible study brought a verse of a favorite hymn of mine to mind.

"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking for things that could not satisfy
then one day I heard the Saviour saying, drink from the well that never shall run dry. Fill my cup Lord.....

I am thoroughly enjoying this study of John chapter 4. thank you.

Hi humblamb!
glad you enjoyed the study.
We are going to be starting chapter 5.
Hope you join us there :).


"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking for things that could not satisfy
then one day I heard the Saviour saying, drink from the well that never shall run dry. Fill my cup Lord.....

That sounds like a beautiful hymn.

Thank you and God bless you :hug:.

[Debra R]

Hi kaja,

have you read the ten commandments? They are in the Old Testament in Exodus 20:3-17.
To disobey any of God's commandments is sin. The people were told to follow God's commandments so they would have long life and be blessed. If they broke the commandments they were cursed. God loved His people but many times they would forget His commandments and break them.

Human nature struggles with sin. God knows this. God also had a plan. He determind He would send Jesus so that all who believed in Him would have new life. And in believing in Jesus, He enables us to overcome our sin nature. Jesus helps us to love God and obey God's commandments.

We all have sinned. We all have broken at least one of God's commandments.
But when we ask for forgiveness and believe in Jesus, that Jesus died for our sin,
God forgives us for breaking His commandments and we become His children. And He helps us to keep His commandments. And we are promised eternal life forever with God.

Do you understand this Kaja?

God bless you :hug:.

[Kaja]

Ok so if the people in the OT obeyed gods word most of the time(because they cant be perfect right?) then they went to heaven, but if they hardly ever listened to the 10 comandments they went to hell?
It makes more sense thank you!

[Momof5]

Ok so if the people in the OT obeyed gods word most of the time(because they cant be perfect right?) then they went to heaven, but if they hardly ever listened to the 10 comandments they went to hell?
It makes more sense thank you!

Kaja - Not quite that way. The people in the Old Testament were saved by faith just like we are. Faith is believing what you can't see, right? The Old Testament people had the Law (10 Commandments and others). The Law points our sin out to us. Since we are human, we cannot keep the law perfectly, so there had to be atonement for sin. They still believed in (trusted) God and believed God. God is total truth and cannot lie so when He says something, it is! When God told the people who had faith in Him to do something, they did it - no matter what it cost them! They believed the promises God made to them - one of which was to send a Savior.

There were animal sacrifices in the temple to atone for sin. Sin cannot be done away with without shedding blood. These sacrifices had to be done over and over by priests. When Jesus died on the cross, he became the final sacrifice. When His blood was shed, it was the atonement for our sin, one time for all. Jesus became the bridge over the gap between our Holy God and sinful man. Jesus made it possible for us to approach God without a priest!

Have you done any studying in the Old Testament yet, Kaja? I will do my best to help you understand. Do you have PM privileges yet? We can do it that way if you want or post publicly. I teach kids a little younger than you in Sunday School so I usually keep things pretty simple. :hug:

[Debra R]

Kaja - Not quite that way. The people in the Old Testament were saved by faith just like we are. Faith is believing what you can't see, right? The Old Testament people had the Law (10 Commandments and others). The Law points our sin out to us. Since we are human, we cannot keep the law perfectly, so there had to be atonement for sin. They still believed in (trusted) God and believed God. God is total truth and cannot lie so when He says something, it is! When God told the people who had faith in Him to do something, they did it - no matter what it cost them! They believed the promises God made to them - one of which was to send a Savior.

There were animal sacrifices in the temple to atone for sin. Sin cannot be done away with without shedding blood. These sacrifices had to be done over and over by priests. When Jesus died on the cross, he became the final sacrifice. When His blood was shed, it was the atonement for our sin, one time for all. Jesus became the bridge over the gap between our Holy God and sinful man. Jesus made it possible for us to approach God without a priest!

Have you done any studying in the Old Testament yet, Kaja? I will do my best to help you understand. Do you have PM privileges yet? We can do it that way if you want or post publicly. I teach kids a little younger than you in Sunday School so I usually keep things pretty simple. :hug:
Thank you Momof5 :hug:, that was very important that you added that.
You explained that very well. I just want to add a few verses.

This from NIV Bible ( I thought it would be easier for Kaja to understand)

Hebrews 9:22) In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 10:1) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

2) If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

3) But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

4) because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5) Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;

6) with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.

7) Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--
I have come to do your will, O God.' "

8) First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made).

9) Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second.

10) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.


God bless :hug:

In Christ's love,
Debra